Thief of Hearts Boxed Set Read online

  “Don’t worry, Kate.”

  She glanced over at him, then back at the dashboard. “I’m not.” Only half a lie. She was worried, but she didn’t want to be.

  She turned away to get out of the car, then locked the doors behind her. The garage was deserted; the tapping of her heels echoed off bare concrete walls. Jake followed her, silent in soft-soled shoes. At the elevator she pressed the call button, then stood there waiting, too nervous to look at him. What if he was gloating over her easy consent?

  He slid an arm around her waist. “I can’t stop touching you.”

  He didn’t sound like he was gloating. Underneath the bitterness, he didn’t seem like an arrogant man. He could have forced her, could have threatened her, could have pressured her to satisfy him out there by the coffee shop. Instead, he’d given her pleasure without thinking of himself, then asked her to take him home…and she’d felt this same restrained tension in his arms while he’d waited for her answer.

  She turned to face him and relaxed against his chest. His arms came around her, gently holding. This was why she’d said yes, this gentleness of his, when he had so much strength. He made her feel safe, protected…

  Oh, no. Protection. She pulled back and looked up at him. “We need to go to a drug store.”

  “No, we don’t. I have everything we need.”

  Why? In case he found an easy lay?

  “Don’t look at me like that, Kate.”

  The elevator arrived, and she heard the doors open behind her. Jake didn’t move, didn’t take his gaze off of her face. “I’ve been carrying a box with me ever since I got out last week. I’ve been planning to pick up a hooker.”

  He said it with no visible embarrassment, no wry grin or telltale flush. Hard to believe he’d waited. He’d been out a week or so. “Haven’t you?”

  His gaze never left her face. “No.”

  “Why not?”

  He shrugged. “A hooker would just want me to get my rocks off and get out of there.” His hand stroked her neck, cupped the side of her cheek. “That’s not what I want.”

  He was strong enough to bruise her, but he stroked her cheek as gently as if she was a baby. She couldn’t resist his tenderness. “What do you want, Jake?”

  “I want a woman who gives herself to me. Completely. A woman who doesn’t hold back.”

  She always held back. That was the problem.

  He moved his hands to her shoulders, then stroked down her arms and squeezed her hands. “I want a woman who wants me, not my money.” Now he looked embarrassed, with just a hint of red on his cheekbones. “I want you.”

  The words almost made her knees melt. Ridiculous. He’d say that to any woman. “You might be disappointed. I’m not very…adventurous.”

  He brushed his lips against hers in a soft, gentle kiss. When he pulled back, he was grinning. “We can start with plain vanilla. Then we’ll add a few kinks.”

  “K-kinks?” God, she stuttered over the word.

  “Just a few kinks.” He took her hand and led her into the elevator. “You’ll like ’em. Trust me.”

  She’d be stupid to trust him. But for this one night, she would. For this one night, she’d be reckless and impulsive.

  Maybe even kinky.

  He kept one beefy arm around her waist as they rode up to her floor and walked down the hallway to her apartment. He held her close…so close that the motion of his hips, of his longer stride, threw her off balance and forced her to take quicker steps to keep up with him. His arm felt strong and heavy, like he’d done nothing in prison but pump iron.

  Was she crazy, taking a convicted felon home with her?

  He’d done his time; he deserved a chance to go straight. Even so, that didn’t mean she should invite him into her life. But God, she wanted him. All that sexy talk at the restaurant had worked on her like an aphrodisiac.

  When they reached the door to her apartment, she stalled. Once she let him in, she’d be completely at his mercy. She’d known him forever…but she hadn’t seen him in ten years. What if he—

  No, she wouldn’t even think of the possibilities. She deserved one wild night, and he was just the man to give it to her.

  His arm tightened—a warning? As tall as he was, she couldn’t see anything but a powerful jaw and the side of his face. From this angle, she couldn’t read anything in his expression.

  He turned toward her slightly, lowering his mouth to her ear. “Are you trying to back out, Kate?”

  His hot breath teased her skin, and the menacing note in his voice made her shiver. That little hint of danger set her heart pumping. What would he do if she tested his limits?

  “What if I am?”

  He spun her around to face him. His hands gripped her waist, pulled her tight…her stomach rubbed against the hard bulge of his cock. All that hard masculine heat, all that desire…all for her.

  She almost moaned.

  “If you back out…” His voice sounded rough, urgent. She could feel his chest moving with each harsh breath. “If you back out, you’ll be sorry.”

  Was that another threat? If she said no, would he force his way into her apartment?

  God, she almost wanted him to. If he forced her, she wouldn’t be responsible for anything they did.

  But that wasn’t fair to him. She wanted him; the least she could do was admit it. “I’m not backing out.”

  His breath shuddered against her neck. “Then open the damned door.”

  She had to pull away a little to fumble in her purse for the keys. Her hand shook as she unlocked the deadbolt.

  When she reached for the doorknob, he touched her elbow. “Don’t be scared.”

  He sounded a little nervous himself. Three years without sex? She knew exactly how he felt. Nervous, excited…aroused. She turned her face so he wouldn’t see her smile. “I’m not.”

  “Do you want to be?”

  His voice had been a low rumble, barely audible. “What?”

  He shook his head. “Never mind.”

  She didn’t really want to know what he’d said, didn’t want an excuse to say no. With a quick twist of the doorknob, she opened the door and led him inside. The slam of the door behind her made her jump.

  Before she could move, his hands were on her shoulders, turning her toward him. He grabbed her ass in his huge hands, pulling her up against him. The sudden movement, being lifted off balance, made her gasp. When he canted his hips, rubbing his erection against her belly, she clutched his denim jacket to steady herself.

  His teeth gleamed in the dim streetlight shining in a nearby window. “Are you scared now?”

  So he wanted her to be frightened. “Maybe just a little.” She let go of his jacket and slid her hands underneath it, stroking his chest through the soft cotton of his T-shirt. Solid muscle. “You’re a lot bigger than I remember.”

  He squeezed her ass for a second, then moved his hands around to cup her breasts. “So are you.”

  She gave a breathless laugh. Humor wasn’t the kind of thing she expected from him.

  His teeth gently nipped her earlobe. “I’ve missed hearing a woman laugh.”

  And probably any woman would do. Hard to care about that now, with his hands stroking her breasts, his body so hot and hard against hers. He found her lips with his, kissing her, tasting her, devouring her. His tongue made heated, rhythmic thrusts into her mouth, wet and velvety. She leaned against the solid heat of his body, pressing his hands tight to her breasts.

  God, she wanted him. He made her ache in a way she’d never known she could. His thumbs stroked over her nipples, unbearably sensitive from all the arousal. He groaned, making her lips tingle with the vibrations, and pulled his warm, wonderful mouth away from hers. “Bedroom. Now.”

  Her legs might not carry her. They seemed leaden, barely able to hold her upright. He pinched her nipples, and the sharp sting, pain burning into pleasure, made her jump. Pain could be close to pleasure, he’d said. And he was right.

 
; Before she could move, he tugged her suit jacket down her arms. “To hell with the bedroom.” The jacket fell behind her, and he jerked at the buttons on her silk shirt. “I’ll fuck you right here.”

  He sounded so desperate—more desperate than any man she’d ever been with. But she wanted him in her bed, not here on the floor of the entryway. In the future, when she lay in her lonely bed, she wanted to remember this wild man in it.

  She moved away a little, and his hands fisted in her shirt, stopping her. The delicate fabric pulled tight. His face looked fierce—mouth drawn taut, eyes blazing.

  She laid her hands over his wrists. “Bedroom,” she said, mimicking him. “Now.”

  Suddenly he grinned and released her shirt, but took one of her hands in his. “Lead the way.”

  She did, pulling him behind her.

  In the bedroom, she turned on the faint nightstand light. Jake never took his eyes off of her. He looked totally incongruous next to her pale cherry furniture and floral comforter, but he shrugged off his denim jacket and threw it onto the overstuffed chair by the window as if he came into her bedroom every night.

  And he took her into his arms the same way, with no reticence, kissing her with just the right amount of pressure, teasing her lips apart. His tongue filled her mouth with a vibrant thrust, finding hers and drawing it to his own mouth.

  His hands wandered over her back, over her ass, around to cup her breasts through her shirt. He broke the kiss and looked down at his stroking hands through fiery, heavy-lidded eyes. “I want to kiss you here, too,” he murmured, strumming her nipples with avid fingers.

  One hand trailed down her side, over her hip, and cupped her sex. His fingers pressed against her. “And I want to kiss you here.”

  He lowered his lips to her ear, took her lobe between his teeth in a soft bite. “Do you want those things, Kate?” His hand plucked at her breast, making her nipple even harder. “Do you want me to lick these big hard nipples?”

  Licking was the least of what she wanted. She nodded.

  His fingers moved between her legs, scratching lightly against her clit, generating heat and friction. “Do you want me to kiss you here?”

  She clutched his shoulders and tilted her hips in rhythm with his fingers. God, she was wet. “Oh, yes.”

  “I’ll suck you until you’re screaming. I’ll…” His teeth stung her neck, hard enough to bruise her. “I’ll fuck you with my tongue.”

  She pushed harder against his hand. No man had ever talked to her like this. Raw, needy, undignified…Like she was a tramp.

  She loved it. His desperation made her feel so…desirable.

  Suddenly his hand was gone, and he stripped off his T-shirt with fluid grace. Oh, his chest was absolutely perfect. Broad and solid, with a thoroughly masculine swathe of curly black hair whirling around his nipples and arrowing down his stomach to disappear into his jeans.

  She couldn’t stop herself from touching that amazing chest. The hair tickled her palms as she swept her hands over him.

  He groaned. “You’ll never know how good that feels.” His voice sounded rough and achy—exactly how she felt.

  Eager hands fumbled at her breasts again, trying to force his way inside her shirt even though only a couple of the buttons were undone.

  He’d rip it in a minute. Part of her wanted him to rip it off, wanted to drive him wild, to feel him tear off her clothes. But her practical side hated to see the ruin of a perfectly good silk shirt. She reached for the buttons on her blouse and started to undo them.

  “No,” he snapped, pulling her hands away.

  She jumped at his harsh tone and gazed up at his face. She’d never seen a man look so angry.

  “Don’t be afraid.” He gave a crooked half-smile. “It’s just—you’re like a present, Kate. I want to unwrap you myself.”

  Hard to argue with that.

  His fingers stroked her face, then stole around to the back of her head. She felt him searching for pins, tugging carefully. So carefully. She laid her hands on his forearms, feeling strong muscles move as he gently pulled pins out. Her hair fell down her back in a curly sweep.

  He buried his face against her neck, biting gently through the curtain of her hair. The sharp nip of his teeth made her knees go weak; she swayed against him, clinging to his bare arms.

  And all the while his fingers worked at the buttons of her shirt. He peeled it off her shoulders and left it hanging, caught on her bent elbows. She couldn’t stop touching his chest to take it all the way off. He could get to her breasts now, and he did, his fingers strumming, pinching, then strumming again.

  She couldn’t hold back the moan any longer.

  “Lace and satin.” His voice was low and rough. “I knew you were wearing something sexy under that uptight suit.”

  Another pinch. A bite on her neck. A hard twist of her nipples. Harsh sensations that rushed straight to her sex. She cried out, grabbing his shoulders to keep herself upright.

  “That’s it,” he rasped against her neck. “Tell me how good this feels.”

  He pulled her bra straps down, tugged the cups lower, and lifted her breasts until they spilled out above her bra. His head bent, and he suckled on one nipple, his hair brushing against her collarbone. She felt the rough stubble on his cheek abrading her tender skin—another taste of pain and pleasure.

  She held his head against her as he licked one breast, then the other. His teeth rubbed across her nipple, but he didn’t bite.

  Words she’d never thought she’d voice left her mouth. “Bite me.”

  She felt him smile against her breast. “I promised you vanilla first.”

  He nipped anyway, just a gentle bite but enough to make her gasp. Clever fingers played with her nipples, tugging and twisting, stroking and soothing. His panting breaths rushed over her skin.

  When his hands left her breasts, she shivered from the loss of his heat. But those eager hands went to the waistband of her skirt, pulling, fumbling. After one frantic tug, she heard the button skitter across the hardwood floor. Then he had the zipper open, his hands sliding under her skirt, under her underpants, pulling everything down with a harsh groan.

  He knelt in front of her and grabbed one ankle, impatiently trying to lift it, pulling her off balance.

  She had to lean against his shoulders to step out of her shoes. He pulled off her tangled clothes at the same time. The accidental brush of his hair against her thighs felt wickedly erotic. She’d love to have him bury his face between her legs.

  He swept his head back and forth, as if he’d read her mind. Her fingers slipped through his short, clipped hair. He’d worn it long and shaggy as an adolescent—a badge of rebellion. Even cropped close, the natural curls wound around her fingers. Her hand looked startlingly pale against his black hair.

  His nose pressed against her pubic hair, his mouth between her legs, hot and wet, breathing moist heat against her clit. She whimpered, and her knees gave out.

  Big hands caught her ass, holding her upright, and his tongue…oh, his tongue burrowed between her thighs, finding her clit and relentlessly thrusting, over and over, until her knees trembled.

  She tried to spread her legs farther apart, to give him more access, but they were too weak to move. And if she stepped away to get on the bed, his mouth would leave her.

  She couldn’t bear it. She could only stand and shudder, her bare ass shaking in his hands, her body pushing forward to meet each heated stab of his tongue.

  When he pulled away, she clutched his head closer. But he resisted, damn him, leaving her aching for more. He rose to his feet, towering above her. Before she could blink, his lips met hers in a hot, wet kiss.

  God, his mouth smelled like her sex…tasted like her sex. She squirmed against him, rubbing her bare legs against his jeans, her breasts against his chest.

  While he kissed her deep and hard, his hands tugged her bra off.

  She twisted away and gasped against his neck. “Please, Jake. I can’t sta
nd anymore.”

  He bent and wrapped one arm behind her knees, then lifted her off her feet. She wasn’t a small woman, but next to Jake she felt petite. He carried her as easily as if she were a child. Her hand rested against his chest; his heart beat fast and hard under her palm.

  He laid her carefully on the bed. Before he straightened, he fanned her hair out with one hand. His steady, unnerving stare made her blush.

  One big, rough hand cupped her neck, his thumb pressing lightly against her throat. How easily he could hurt her. Just the thought made her heart hammer. But he skimmed over her throat, traced along her collarbone, and stroked down to her breast in a long caress. “You’re gorgeous.”

  He sounded amazed, like he couldn’t believe she was here with him. How could she have thought that he’d hurt her? He might be big, bad, and rough around the edges, but he wouldn’t hurt her.

  Not much.

  Not more than she wanted him to.

  “Thank you.” Her voice came out a whisper.

  He took his hand away and stood, curving his fingers around one of the posts of the wrought-iron headboard. “Nice bed frame. Very sturdy.”

  What a thing to comment on, with her lying naked in front of him. “I suppose so.”

  He grinned down at her and winked. “I’ll put these posts to good use in a little while.”

  Did he mean…God, she didn’t know what he meant. And she couldn’t ask. He’d make fun of her, no doubt.

  The grin faded, and he looked down at her hungrily. “Touch yourself.”

  Her breath caught. “What?”

  “Touch yourself. Like you can’t wait for me to touch you.”

  No man had ever seen her pleasure herself. No man had ever dared to ask.

  Jake was the kind of man who’d dare anything. The kind of man she’d always fantasized about. And she’d give him anything he wanted.

  Anything.

  She slid one shaking hand to her breast and stroked over the nipple. His tongue had left wetness on her skin, and her fingers slipped easily over her breast. She tweaked her nipple back and forth.

  His eyes were heated, following every motion of her hand. She couldn’t look away from his face. She pinched her nipple gently, like he’d done—and saw his mouth open, as if he was breathing faster.